Foster Care Review Finds No Problems

Foster Care Review Finds No Problems

July 31, 2008

Steve Flamisch

Two scenes, two months apart: Sharmon Evans cleaning out her condemned home, John Beaudoin cleaning out his old office. Both are inextricably linked.

Evans is the Lansingburgh woman accused of beating and starving her adopted 11 year-old son. She is also a former foster mother.

Beaudoin is the retiring Rensselaer County Social Services Commissioner, who ordered a full-scale review of all 92 foster families in the county when the allegations against Evans surfaced.

"We went through from top to bottom," Beaudoin said on Wednesday, his last day at work. "We made unannounced visits and interviewed every one."

Case workers inspected every room in each house, even opening the refrigerator to make sure there was enough food, Beaudoin said. They found no violations.

"We found nothing that was strange or anything else that would lead us to believe that there were safety issues," Beaudoin said.

As for Evans, even if she is found guilty of endangering the welfare of her adopted child, Beaudoin doubts that she mistreated her foster children in years past.

"She was a very thorough foster mother," he said of Evans, who left the foster program in December. "She made routine visits to the doctor, to the optometrist, or whatever. And she was just like clockwork."

Evans is due back in family court on August 25 for a pre-plea investigation, a probation-level background check.

Beaudoin retired this week after 50 years of social work, 40 as commissioner.